Not sure if I need THREE kits, but I got the DrumCraft drums today. I haven't gotten to clean them or do a good tuning yet, but they sure are pretty (not sure if the pictures will do them justice. But set up in my drum room they sound great. Each drum is stamped what date they were made - I may want to apply some tung oil to the insides though.

But it's basically a DrumCraft 22" Progressive maple kit in the Cardiac Burst finish. Online price from DrumCraftdirect.au is $2,039.00 for the shell pack. This finish isn't available from anyone on eBay, either, and their snare drums are asking a pretty price too (I've seen between $300-450). The name of the finish is appropriate.

The actual drum hardware looks good and feels very sturdy - the clamps and tom mounts feel like chrome covered plastic, but function well, and are pretty heavy - which makes me think they're not actually plastic. If I keep the kit I may just install a full-on Yamaha double tom mount and also use Yamaha tom mounts on the toms - just eliminate the DrumCraft stuff altogether.

But I guess my big debate is to keep them or not. They are truly top-flight drums, but I have two great kits already. What would you do? As I said in earlier posts, although I primarily play 4-piece kits for everything, every now and then you have to go out and be able to look and play the part of the jazz-fusionist. Some people just like drummers with two toms on top too, so it definitely makes me able to fill any needs anyone might want. But then again, I'm comfortable enough nowadays that I actually turn people down for gigs. I'll stare at the drums for a while and decide where I want to go with these ;)

You got a ridiculously good deal on them. You have plenty of space in your drum room. If you like 'em, I say keep 'em. Besides, with the money you saved getting that great deal, you should have plenty left over to get something nice for the wife! From one married guy to another, as long as she's happy its all good!

I'll say that if you like them enough that you would have bought them at the regular price, then you should keep them. Otherwise - out they go.

This is quite a loaded question, isn't it? I'm not sure I ever paid the regular price for any of the drums I've had. I recall really liking the Sonor SQ2 in concept, but because I was taught that the drums don't matter as much as the guy playing them, I highly doubted I'd ever pay for that. I did pay for a new set of Drum Workshop some time ago, but I didn't like them afterwards. I kept wanting them to be the old Camco's - and they weren't.

As far as the wife goes, I think she likes them better. There's color to them. She thinks gloss black on the Slingerlands and natural maple (which she calls yellow) on the Ludwig is pretty bland.

But the interesting thing is the "modern vs. vintage" thing. As Anthony attests to, we've had to futz with our old drums as we grew up for hours making them sound good. And all new kits these days you just throw heads on them and crank 'em up. If you can't get a good sound out of a modern kit, then I think there might be something wrong with you.

I'm gonna give these a good cleaning and do some seriously playing in the morning. I'll live with the crowded drum room. When the Slingerlands come back from Pro Drum I'll have my own little shop ;)

What I mean is, you didn't seem like before, you were - 'I really want a set of DrumCraft drums and I'm going to search for them, no matter how much they cost'.
It was more like - 'I found a set of DrumCraft drums for a really good price. I don't need or particularly want them, but they're a really good deal'.

I could be wrong about that, but it doesn't seem like it from your post I linked to.

Jeez..how is it I know Bo's drum collection but I can't remember to pay the electric bill?

My apologies for not updating all of you. But due to the nostalgic nature of both the Ludwigs and the Slingerlands, both Tamas were let go to help fund those kits. Well, not exactly let go - the Starclassics were bought by the high school I work for so although technically I don't own them, I'm the only one playing them and maintaining them. The school thought it wise to own their own kit for the choir program, so I was able to provide one for them ;)

The Granstars went to the accompanists' 12-year-old son who I give lessons to about once a month now. His mother asked me advice on a first kit for him but she didn't want to buy him a toy, and be loved the Granstars every time he saw them so for his birthday, I set him up with it.

So I have access to all FIVE kits anyway, two of them just don't live in my house. Considering the emotional ties to the vintage kits, they're a good trade. My house is full of maple instead of birch ;)

At first I felt I could flip the DrumCrafts, but I feel like the Slingerlands will probably just enjoy a home life instead of gigging, which would mean the Ludwigs and DCs would share the brunt of the gigging abuse. But I reserve the right to change my mind on that. Good kits need to played in public - every blue moon or so ;)

What I mean is, you didn't seem like before, you were - 'I really want a set of DrumCraft drums and I'm going to search for them, no matter how much they cost'.
It was more like - 'I found a set of DrumCraft drums for a really good price. I don't need or particularly want them, but they're a really good deal'.

I could be wrong about that, but it doesn't seem like it from your post I linked to.

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Yeah, it was more the latter. I just wanted to point out that I don't think I've ever been a "have it all costs" kinda' guy. I thought I was that way years ago when I bought my first DW's, but I think that whole situation cured me of that (since I was so dissatisfied with the whole DW Experience). These new DC's are definitely worth what I paid for them - not sure if I would've paid $2000+ for them - they wouldn't have come up on my radar for that price - although a new Ludwig classic maple Downbeat would've.

And the Slingerlands didn't fall into that category, either. In Bermuda's thread about the outrageous drum prices, I see folks trying to sell their vintage kits for really high prices, and emotional ties or not, I don't have that much disposible income to spend $4500 on a 35+ year-old set of drums. I had seen these particular Slingerlands for a few weeks before and started playing with the idea of getting it in honor of my parents, and it just so happens they were the cheapest by far of any other Slingerland seller, and it fit all the parameters I was looking for. So that was an easy trigger pull. Talk about odds, eh?

... I just wanted to point out that I don't think I've ever been a "have it all costs" kinda' guy. I thought I was that way years ago when I bought my first DW's, but I think that whole situation cured me of that (since I was so dissatisfied with the whole DW Experience)...

Yep - one experience like that is usually enough to turn most people a bit more practical.

Yep - one experience like that is usually enough to turn most people a bit more practical.

Still - for someone who's rolling in the cash - why not, right?

Yeah, you're right. In this case, why not?

Now I've spent the morning cleaning up and tuning the DrumCrafts and futzing with hanging the toms off of two straight cymbal stands, and I got it working. These drums are definitely in that sub-2K range, and they tune really easy (almost too easy). They're light, which probably adds to their resonance, and the drum hardware is good (not sure about those tom arms and clamps supplied, though). So I think I'll go with the Yamaha double tom mount on the bass drum anyway. I think this will be a smart move since this company doesn't really have any support in the US, hence no way to get replacement parts should I need them.

Hey! Beautiful drums there. I actually have a drumcraft 6.5 x14 series 8 snare from sam ash for just $130.Thanks to your tip, i found out sam ash is trying to get rid of their drumcraft inventory. I had trouble trying to tune and get the right sound out of the snare, can you tell me what settings you have on your snare if you do end up playing it?

Hey! Beautiful drums there. I actually have a drumcraft 6.5 x14 series 8 snare from sam ash for just $130.Thanks to your tip, i found out sam ash is trying to get rid of their drumcraft inventory. I had trouble trying to tune and get the right sound out of the snare, can you tell me what settings you have on your snare if you do end up playing it?

Well, I do this with every new drum, but I just loosen up both heads and the. Proceed to get them evenly tuned. On the snare my bottom head ends up a bit tighter than the batter head but that's about it. This snare is really nice and the strainer is pretty robust. I did put a regular ambassador on top and got rid of the dot head. But I didn't do anything special to it. It's a nice solid snare.

It's dangerous when you're at work cruising around eBay. I've begun the process and bought a Yamaha bass drum tom mount and a the Yamaha double tom mount without the arms. I'm even going to install it myself. Wish me luck in about a week!

Great score Bo. I'm going to pick up a Drumcraft aluminum snare on Friday. I tried it out for a bit and just couldn't resist. Nice snap but still enough ring for my liking. Can't wait!

Yeah, the snare I got is surprisingly good. It seems to hold its own when A/B tested with my Supraphonic and my Slingerland COB, and sounds different enough that you know I'm playing it (I can get the Supra and the Slingy to sound really close to one another, and that's good 'cause I love that sound too). I'd love to hear a metal DrumCraft snare, I'm sure yours will sound awesome. I recommend losing that head with the dot underneath though. When I put a regular coated ambassador on my snare the drum just opened up. Congrats on your score!

Well, online price of this specific kit on their Australian webpage (www.drumcraft.au) has it priced at $2100, or 2199, something like that. But I think in reality, it competes with kits like Tama's Starclassic B/B kits, which round out at about $1400-1500 for a 4-piece (no snare), and DrumCraft includes a matching snare. They're nicely built, and maybe they need to age a bit, but they don't feel incredibly rugged yet like my Ludwigs or Slingerlands - there's a bit more heft to the vintage drums whereas the DrumCrafts feel a bit lightweight. Like a fine acoustic guitar, I don't want to just pick them up and throw them around. But I could easily do that to my zep kit and not worry about it. I think once the DrumCraft shells age a bit (maybe in a few years?) they'll brittle up some and feel like they could take some bumping into. Because of that reasoning, I feel they're worth less than what they ask for them, putting them under 2K in price.

I recommend losing that head with the dot underneath though. When I put a regular coated ambassador on my snare the drum just opened up. Congrats on your score!

Thanks Bo, I'll definitely try that. I tried a Remo CS on a few of my snares before and I didn't care for how it changed the tone of the snare. First thing I want to do is replace the batter with a coated single ply and then eventually replace the cheap plastic throw with a Trick.

Thanks Bo, I'll definitely try that. I tried a Remo CS on a few of my snares before and I didn't care for how it changed the tone of the snare. First thing I want to do is replace the batter with a coated single ply and then eventually replace the cheap plastic throw with a Trick.

I think you oughta' give the plastic strainer a try first. I had considered that at first, and then when I got the drum home, in practice it works out ok. At least there's metal where you need it. The part that's plastic is really just the handle part. If you left your snare drum out in the elements for a couple of years I can see the plastic getting brittle and breaking, but who does that?

You might find you don't have to invest in that Trick just yet. The one I have works great. The adjust knob is super smooth. But I thought I saw that strainer made by somebody else, and all the parts were metal. Maybe you can find the exact same one with the metal parts.

Well, I do this with every new drum, but I just loosen up both heads and the. Proceed to get them evenly tuned. On the snare my bottom head ends up a bit tighter than the batter head but that's about it. This snare is really nice and the strainer is pretty robust. I did put a regular ambassador on top and got rid of the dot head. But I didn't do anything special to it. It's a nice solid snare.

Thanks! I put a remo powerstroke, and 30 strand Puresound snares. With my snare I was getting an ugly ring. It was really abnormal but now it sounds fantastic.